Opel Ampera Celebrates Double Win at the “10th Internet Auto Award”

Mar 7, 2012

Ampera is “most popular car newcomer in Europe” and winning electric car

Opel wins biggest internet user prize (Carolina) for the third successive year

Rüsselsheim/Geneva. After the start of deliveries to customers, the Opel Ampera has won two prizes in the “10th Internet Auto Award” sponsored by the AutoScout24 website. The Ampera scored an overall victory by winning in the segment “most popular car newcomer in Europe” and in the category “electric vehicles”. Opel’s Director E-mobility Enno Fuchs, received two of the prestigious CAROLINA trophies at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Geneva motor show. “With the revolutionary Ampera, Opel has taken the lead in the area of e-mobility. We are very proud that the Ampera has scooped two awards at this audience-driven competition.” This is the third successive year that Opel has been given an award in the largest internet user contest for the automotive industry. This year, it is AutoScout 24’s tenth time to hand over the internet car award.

351 vehicle models competed in different vehicle categories and special segments where one winner is declared. More than 160,000 internet users across Europe took part in the vote in which they also determined the overall winner. The victory for the Ampera comes after the Insignia scored a major success in 2009 when it was declared the overall winner as “the most popular car newcomer” in Europe.

Revolutionary Technology

The Opel Ampera is the first electric vehicle that can go anywhere anytime. The five-door sedan can accommodate four adults at a time plus luggage. A 16 kWh lithium ion battery powers the 111kW/150 hp electric motor. Depending on the style of driving and road conditions, distance of between 40 and 80 kilometers can be covered in the purely battery-operated mode, completely free of emissions. The wheels of the Ampera are always powered electrically. In extended-range mode, which activates whenever the battery has reached its minimum state of charge, the 1.4 liter gasoline engine with 63 kW/86 hp drives a generator that supplies the electric drive unit. The range extender enables an operating radius of 500 kilometers. Instantly available torque of 370 Nm ensure that the Ampera accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in around nine seconds. Its top speed is 161 km/h.

Opel is the first car maker to enter cooperation agreements with 42 energy providers so that electric vehicles can be charged with electricity from sustainable energy sources in everyday use. When electric vehicles are operated with power from renewable energy sources, this is a further significant contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and combating climate change.

Thanks to its range extending capabilities, Ampera drivers can benefits from the environmentally friendly mobility offered by a battery-driven vehicle but without range anxiety.